1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to a device and method for economically controlling the temperature of heated water in a storage tank to maximize the convenience to the user while minimizing the energy costs.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
There are several different electronic hot water heater control systems today such as Blank U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,261; Boe U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,821; Swindle U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,178; Jones U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,908 and others. However, none of the devices mentioned allow for specific tailoring of hot water heating cycles of particular individuals to the degree or versatility needed.
It is therefore one objective of the present invention to provide a relatively inexpensive controlled, programmable heating device and method which will operate at relatively low cost and will require little modifications to existing hot water heating systems.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a hot water heater control device and method that is programmable and includes a thermostat panel having three independent adjustable controls for low, medium and high water temperatures.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a hot water heater control device which includes a control panel having a mode switch, a clock display and temperature indicator lights.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a method for economically providing heated water at various temperatures depending upon the lifestyle of the user whereby a pre-programmed clock is set, start/stop times for heating cycles of particular living cycles are selected, and temperature modes for the heating cycles are chosen whereby water temperature is maintained in the storage tank in accordance with said selections.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a hot water temperature control device and method which allows for temporarily overriding the start/stop times and/or temperatures of the heating cycle.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is presented below.